Posted on 10/07/2014 2:17:41 AM PDT by servo1969
Last Friday night a rare dialogue/debate took place on American television. It was rare because it involved criticism of Islam, one of the many taboo subjects that are labeled "politically incorrect." And it took place on the program "Real Time with Bill Maher," a show not generally known for taking politically incorrect positions.
But on this night the host, Bill Maher, along with atheism-advocate Sam Harris, had a vigorous debate with Actor Ben Affleck, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.
Bill Maher, a man of the left on virtually every issue, began by defending liberalism's honor against liberal hypocrisy on the subject of Islam:
"Liberals need to stand up for liberal principles. ... Liberal principles like freedom of speech, freedom to practice any religion you want without fear of violence, freedom to leave a religion, equality for women, equality for minorities including homosexuals -- these are liberal principles that liberals applaud for [pointing to his audience], but then when you say in the Muslim world this is what's lacking, then they get upset."
Sam Harris then added:
"Liberals have really failed on the topic of theocracy. They'll criticize ... Christians; they'll still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happened in 1984, but when you talk about the treatment of women and homosexuals and free thinkers and public intellectuals in the Muslim world, I would argue that liberals have failed us. And the crucial point of confusion is that we have been sold this meme of 'Islamophobia,' where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam gets conflated with bigotry toward Muslims as people. That's intellectually ridiculous."
Ben Affleck and Nicholas Kristof -- along with, sad to say, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee -- would have none of that.
Affleck's first response to the indictment of the liberal double standard was to ask Sam Harris: "Are you the person that understands the officially codified doctrine of Islam?"
To which Harris responded: "I'm actually well-educated on this topic."
Affleck, presumably not desirous of comparing his knowledge of Islam with that of Harris, moved on: "You're saying that Islamophobia is not a real thing?"
"It's gross! It's racist!" Affleck continued, in answer to his own question.
"It's like saying, 'I'm not your shifty Jew,'" comparing an antisemitic epithet to what Maher and Harris were saying.
To which Harris pointed out that there is no comparison between attacks on all members of a group and attacks on ideas: "We have to be able to criticize bad ideas. And Islam is the mother lode of bad ideas."
That really set Affleck off.
"Jesus! It's an ugly thing to say."
This was classic leftist thinking. The question of whether an assertion is true is of little or no interest to the left. The question of concern to the left is whether something is politically incorrect.
Then the New York Times columnist, Kristof, offered his take:
"The picture you're painting is to some extent true, but it is hugely incomplete. It is certain that plenty of fanatics and jihadis are Muslim, but [so are] the people who are standing up to them -- Malala [the Pakistani 12-year-old shot and critically wounded by Islamists for attending school and advocating that other girls do so], Muhammad Ali Dadkhah in Iran, in prison for nine years for speaking up for Christians, [and] a friend that I had in Pakistan [who] was shot this year, Rashid Rahman, for defending people accused of apostasy."
Kristof's response is a frequent one. So it is worth responding to.
It is quite true that there are heroic Muslims who are fighting the Islamists throughout the Muslim world -- and that some of them have been murdered for doing so. These people are moral giants. But their existence has nothing to do with the criticisms leveled by Maher and Harris, since they never said or implied that all Muslims are bad. There were heroic Germans who fought Hitler and the Nazis. Therefore what? If Kristof had been present when people criticized Germany's values, would he have labeled them "Germanophobes?"
But it was later in the dialogue that Kristof expressed the most dishonest of the left's arguments on this issue: "The great divide is not between Islam and the rest. It's rather between the fundamentalists and the moderates in each faith."
"In each faith," Kristof?
Where, sir, are the Christian and Jewish jihadists? The only Jewish state in the world is one of the freest countries on earth, with protections for minority religions and women and homosexuals unknown anywhere in the Muslim world. And virtually every free country in the world is in the Christian world.
Presumably, these are just "ugly" facts.
This debate was valuable. Even more valuable would be if Maher and Harris came to realize that the death of Judeo-Christian values and their being supplanted by leftism is producing hundreds of millions of people who think like Ben Affleck and Nicholas Kristof.
Bill Maher is a stopped clock. He’s truly a vile individual, but he’s right on Islam. He despises all religions, so Islam is fair game to him - One religion is as bad as any other to him.
His fellow leftists won’t criticize Islam, because the enemy of their enemy is their friend.
So Affleck really is a bimbo.
Liberals will argue that since most Muslims are dark skinned & inhabit the third world, that criticizing Islam is therefore racist in intent.
And their point is....?
They are afraid of muslims and hope to be spared their wrath.
Well, of course. Obviously we would have no problem with Muslims running rampant all over the middle east raping, beheading, crucifying, torturing, murdering, pillaging and ransacking entire countries - If only their skin were a lighter color.
“Maybe that Hollywood idiot [Affleck] should watch a movie called ‘Argo.’”
LOL, excellent comment!
“And virtually every free country in the world is in the Christian world.”
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Just where are these supposedly free countries? I am unable to name one on the whole surface of the planet, Christian or otherwise.
It seems that when confronted head on about Islam Maher comes down on the side of being sane. It almost makes me wonder if his everyday liberal persona is just assumed for the purpose of making money. Have you seen this clip?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YG_mqZJKcM
Maher is an equal opportunity hater of all religions.
Amazing, you have insulted a computer generated duck from an insurance ad. This must be a first, I salute you.
In this clip Maher actually acknowledges Islam as the worst “religion” on the Earth, he does not try to pretend that all are equally bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YG_mqZJKcM
Do I care what Affleck thinks about the Middle East? No.
I’d rather hear what the AFFLACK duck has to say.
Liberals like Affleck are such bullies.
Yeah, but it’s interesting watching these Hollywood types parrot the liberal line with contempt and hatred normally reserved for private communications.
DC insiders know better.
Washington DC handlers can teach Hollywood actors to temper their hatred of conservatives when in public... After all - the meme that liberals are accepting of ideas different than their own has to be maintained for low information voters. Even snide sarcastic ones like Affleck...
Actually Maher and Sam Harris have both said that Islam is an especially dangerous threat.
Then two seconds later Maher will say the same about the Tea Party.
Maybe so but he did refer to equating Islam and Christianity or any other religion as, “liberal bullshit”.
I always say to liberals - the Human Race - there’s only one...they can’t respond to that...something in the water does not compute!
So you disagree with Maher about Islam?
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